"I have about 30,000 crystals total according to the numbers in Liu's book... if I wanted to sell everything and got the best price," he murmured while reviewing his calculations. "And that's without counting what the school will duplicate from the official report... maybe an extra 25,000 with luck. Plus what I can mine in the remaining days of the month..." It was a good amount, more than he had expected to get from this expedition. His careful planning had paid off. But for his plans... "Still need a bit more if I wanna start now," he sighed while beginning to carefully store everything away. "But maybe I could start with..." A shout of laughter came from the garden. His companions played carefree under the afternoon sun, enjoying their well-earned rest. "Free time..." he murmured with a mixture of envy and resignation. "Someday I'll have free time... when all this bears fruit." "At least," he smiled while sealing the last container, "training with Lin is showing results. Even if it hurts." His eyes stopped on the male's corrupted core. There was something about those purple veins that intrigued him, something his knowledge couldn't quite decipher completely... Ren slapped his cheeks and stood up. If he wanted to progress, he would have to keep working, and today he had a place to go to capitalize on his gathering reward... The exchange window. ♢♢♢♢ The exchange warehouse was enormous, its high shelves filled with materials of every kind. The usual aroma of dried herbs and minerals mixed with the unmistakable smell of tanned leather and metal, creating an atmosphere that spoke of countless treasures. The main window was occupied by a long line of older students, so Ren headed to one of the side ones. A young girl, perhaps around 20, was clumsily organizing papers behind the counter, her movements betraying her inexperience. "Um... hello?" Ren approached with his samples. Stay updated with empire The girl jumped in surprise, scattering several papers. "Ah! I'm sorry!" She quickly bent to pick them up, hitting her head against the counter in the process. "Ouch!" "Are you okay?" Ren couldn't help but smile at her flustered state. "Yes! Perfectly fine!" The girl emerged rubbing her head, her hair becoming disheveled in the process. "Welcome to the exchange warehouse! I'm Jessy, and I'm here to help you!" Her enthusiasm was contagious despite her evident nervousness. "Thanks," Ren began taking out his samples. "I wanted to check some prices..." "Of course!" Jessy pulled out a thick appraisal manual much larger than Liu's, eagerly flipping through it. Several pages crumpled in the process. "Oh, no... wait..." While trying to fix the wrinkled pages, Ren noticed she had cat ears, her spirit beast. "First," Ren placed the Weaver molt on the counter, "could you check this?" "Sure!" Jessy examined the molt with genuine interest, her cat ears perking up. "Let me see..." she began searching through the manual, muttering to herself. "Scales... fur... here! No, wait, those are reptilian... white scales... aha!" Her eyes lit up with professional excitement. "Oh! These are complete! The quality is very good and..." she paused to search another page, her enthusiasm making her movements less clumsy, "yes! The wear pattern indicates they're from a recent molt. That makes them more valuable." "Really?" Ren leaned in with interest, curious about her detailed assessment. "Well..." Jessy consulted a value table, her tongue peeking out slightly while calculating. "Normally they'd be about 300 crystals, but in this condition... 450!" Ren whistled softly. "Wasn't expecting that much." "It's because of the preservation!" Jessy smiled, gaining confidence in her expertise. "Look at these marks here," she pointed with genuine enthusiasm. "It means they retain all their original flexibility because they haven't dried out." Next, Ren showed the mirror mantis plates, their surface catching the light beautifully. "Wow!" Jessy's eyes widened like saucers. "These are beautiful! And you have 5 complete ones..." she quickly flipped through the manual, accidentally dropping more papers in the process. "Oops... doesn't matter! Let's see..." Her expression turned serious while consulting several tables, her professional side emerging. "They're... they're very valuable. Especially because they have the bottom layer intact, looks like they weren't ripped off as usual... Are you planning to sell them?" "No, just wanted to know the value." "Oh, well..." Jessy made more calculations. "As a complete set, I'd say... 5000 crystals for all 5? The reflective properties are intact and it seems there isn't even a trace of the bad smell from flesh or hemolymph, which is rare..." Ren nodded, impressed. It was more than double what he had expected. When he brought out the Shadow Stalker skins, Jessy let out a small squeal of excitement. "The quality is incredible! Look at this sheen! They're... um..." she nervously consulted the manual, "300 crystals each for the best ones, 250 for standard. But..." "But?" "They need treatment soon," Jessy bit her lip with genuine concern. "Shadow Stalker skins are delicate. Properly treated they'd be worth double, but..." she blushed slightly, "I wouldn't recommend trying without experience. It's... it's very easy to ruin them." Ren appreciated her honesty. "How long do I have?" 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦 "Three days maximum," Jessy consulted another table with practiced efficiency. "After that they'll start losing properties. There's... there's a processing workshop on the third floor, Isaac would be the best for this," she pointed vaguely upward while gathering the scattered papers. "Alright," Ren smiled while helping her collect them. "You're very good at explaining things." Jessy blushed at the compliment, her cat ears twitching. "Thank you... I'm new and still a bit nervous." They continued reviewing the rest of the materials, which turned out to have values very close to Ren's calculations. Jessy gained more confidence as they progressed, her expertise shining through her initial clumsiness. "So," Ren began storing his samples, "the processing workshop, you said?" "Yes!" Jessy nodded energetically. "Third floor, second door on the right. Just... be careful with the stairs," she blushed again, clearly speaking from experience. Ren laughed. "Thanks for all the help, Jessy." "Come back anytime!" As Ren climbed the stairs, one of the mushrooms in his hair pulsed softly. Jessy noticed it for the first time, and her expression changed subtly. 'Oh...' she thought, 'he's the spore boy...' A mixture of pity and curiosity crossed her face, until something clicked in her memory. "Wait!" Jessy stood and searched through the delivery drawer papers. "There's a note... I'm sure that..." But Ren was already heading upstairs. "Oh, no..." Jessy held the envelope she had just found, the words "For Ren," written in elegant handwriting on the front. "I should have remembered earlier..." She bit her lip, watching the boy's figure disappear toward the third floor. But another student arrived at her window.